Elite strength sports

[rmgainz123]

Im just curious, could the elite level oly lifters, power lifters, strongmen, olympic throwers etc; all excel in eachothers sports? When i watch youtube videos and whatnot they all seem so strong that they could go do the others sport. ( maybe not powerlifters) . ... im starting to think it doesnt matter so long as youre strong as **** hahah ( not 100%) anyone have thoughts on what may happen if say a strongman did an oly lifting comp.?

[amar654]

Im just curious, could the elite level oly lifters, power lifters, strongmen, olympic throwers etc; all excel in eachothers sports? When i watch youtube videos and whatnot they all seem so strong that they could go do the others sport. ( maybe not powerlifters) . ... im starting to think it doesnt matter so long as youre strong as **** hahah ( not 100%) anyone have thoughts on what may happen if say a strongman did an oly lifting comp.?

It was common to see olympic throwers dominate olympic weightlifting back in the day. Check out this article:http://startingstrength.com/articles...wers_starr.pdf. But sadly in this time and age it is hard to be elite in more than one sport. Powerlifting and olympic lifting are two different things and inorder to be successful at both you need to be a genetic alien freak. Can you do both and have some levels of success? Sure. But can you be Elite? Nope. Even throwers in this day and age cant match the strength of throwers back in the day, but the sure can throw further.

[NorthStrong]

Mikhail Koklyaev is pretty good...

But he's one out of many.

[rmgainz123]

It was common to see olympic throwers dominate olympic weightlifting back in the day. Check out this article:http://startingstrength.com/articles...wers_starr.pdf. But sadly in this time and age it is hard to be elite in more than one sport. Powerlifting and olympic lifting are two different things and inorder to be successful at both you need to be a genetic alien freak. Can you do both and have some levels of success? Sure. But can you be Elite? Nope. Even throwers in this day and age cant match the strength of throwers back in the day, but the sure can throw further.

Thats pretty cool if you ask me haha. Thanks for the article.

[Rags85]

Your missing the fact that these movements, throws, lifts, etc... are a set of skills that have been practiced over and over and over again. Its not just about strength, its how you use that strength. Its uncommon for any elite level athlete to have acquired the skill sets to become an elite level athlete in any other sport. Obviously there's anomalies, but elite status takes an enormous amount of dedication and time.

[Einzelhaft]

To a certain degree, yes. But to really perform at the highest level that is possible for an individual you have to choose a sport that matches your talent and train specifically for that sport.
Else you might be good or even elite but not fulfilling your potential.

[InspecktaDeck]

Strength is very specific at elite levels. The strongest snatcher wont be the strongest bench presser, and visa versa. That still doesnt mean somebody that is monster like say Big Z cant walk into a meet and still do very very well. That being said there are super elites that still out class him because they are full time powerlifters.

[tonenotbulk]

I think the most probable is for an elite Olympic weightlifter to transition and become an elite powerlifter, but not the other way.

[amar654]

I think the most probable is for an elite Olympic weightlifter to transition and become an elite powerlifter, but not the other way.

Ive seen many powerlifters become high end weightlifters. Collin Burns just won the american nationals in weightlifting, but before that his training in college was largely powerlifting based for football.
I think due to the fact you already have a solid base of strength from powerlifting, most of the energy can be devoted to learning proper form.

[tonenotbulk]

Ive seen many powerlifters become high end weightlifters. Collin Burns just won the american nationals in weightlifting, but before that his training in college was largely powerlifting based for football.
I think due to the fact you already have a solid base of strength from powerlifting, most of the energy can be devoted to learning proper form.

For sure, I'm not ruling out that it can happen. I just think the transition from being an elite weightlifter to elite powerlifter is more likely to happen. For example, an elite weightlifter will probably have short arms, which is an advantage in the bench, and they will already have the leg strength from high bar and front squatting heavy. An elite powerlifter might have long arms, which will be a hindrance in weightlifting. Also, and this is my amateur speculation, but I think the strength development in weightlifting is more transferable to powerlifting, but not as much the other way.

[Retardo-pex]

Im just curious, could the elite level oly lifters, power lifters, strongmen, olympic throwers etc; all excel in eachothers sports? When i watch youtube videos and whatnot they all seem so strong that they could go do the others sport. ( maybe not powerlifters) . ... im starting to think it doesnt matter so long as youre strong as **** hahah ( not 100%) anyone have thoughts on what may happen if say a strongman did an oly lifting comp.?

It depends on the sport in question. Most throwers utilize weightlifting as well as powerlifting movements for their sport, so for a thrower to be a decent lifter is not a huge transition. The other way around is a bit different though, being strong or powerful is a great baseline for throwing sports, but ultimately technique is what will separate the men from the boys so to speak.

Pretty much it would be easier for any of these athletes to pick up another strength sport and be better than someone just starting out, but to be really good they would still have to perfect technique. Same with strongman, a really strong person might be able to deadlift a lot but that doesn't mean they will be a fast tire flipper or be able to load the heaviest stone etc, there is a lot of prep into those specific events/movements that will be the difference form 1st place and someone who is simply impressive.

[amar654]

For sure, I'm not ruling out that it can happen. I just think the transition from being an elite weightlifter to elite powerlifter is more likely to happen. For example, an elite weightlifter will probably have short arms, which is an advantage in the bench, and they will already have the leg strength from high bar and front squatting heavy. An elite powerlifter might have long arms, which will be a hindrance in weightlifting. Also, and this is my amateur speculation, but I think the strength development in weightlifting is more transferable to powerlifting, but not as much the other way.

If you look at most high end weightlifitng programs for elite weightlifters (i.e Russia, China, Iran) you will notice that there is an emphasis on building pure strength and enforcing technique as a secondary. Sure after a while the priorities switch out, but a stable base of pure strength is built first. Squats, OHPs, and deadlfts are developed to build a foundation, and the oly.lifts are done with pipes.

That is what I think separates the powerhouse teams vs America, In America there is an emphasis on developing technique first and strength second, not hand to hand like other teams do. I dont remember who wrote this, but it stuck with me, it goes like this:

One time this Olympic lifting coach had this new kid(around 20) come into our gym. This kid had been lifting for a year and was only snatching 115 lbs, but to the coach this was a big deal because he did it with so called "perfect form. My buddy went up, grabbed the bar, and threw it up in this "i dont know wtf I am doing" way and looked at the coach and said; "Whats the big deal?"
Perfect form or not, that kid was weak. Its like someone benching 135 pounds with "perfect form" Who gives a ****? Your still weak.


That is why i think powerlifting helps more. It builds a stable base.